Friends Honor Blacksmith's Gentle Spirit

Kenneth Ditto, Who Died Of A Heart Attack Aug. 21, Was A Farrier For Law-enforcement Agencies And Disney.

August 28, 2001|By Tammie Wersinger, Sentinel Staff Writer

OVIEDO -- Kenneth Ditto's career of molding metal and filing horses' hoofs was not a glamorous job by any means.

He spent hours sweating, as he hammered red-hot horseshoes and sawed, filed and cleaned the hoofs of animals several times his size.

His job as a farrier was rough, but his gentle spirit with people and animals endeared him to many.

More than 300 of those people gathered Monday at St. Luke's Lutheran Church in Oviedo to give a hero's farewell to the horseman from Christmas who died a week ago of a heart attack.

Ditto, 48, was a blacksmith for law-enforcement agencies and Disney World. He shod Lipizzaner stallions and hundreds of horses for private owners.

So with all the pomp and circumstance normally reserved for dignitaries, cowboys, police officers, Disney workers, family and friends stood side-by-side to honor a man known throughout the region for his love of horses and the care he gave them.

Officers from Orange County and Orlando were in full dress, including gloves.

A procession of officers on horseback led the way as Donnie -- the last horse Ditto shod -- pulled a glittering white carriage supplied by Disney to deliver his remains to a nearby cemetery.

All the horses in the lineup had been shod by Ditto.

"He was one of the best blacksmiths in Central Florida," Orange County deputy sheriff Terry Brewer said. "To us, he was like a member of the sheriff's office. I just wish we could do more."

Ditto was one of only a handful of blacksmiths in Central Florida certified to nail horseshoes and trim horse hoofs.

"He took care of the whole horse, said Mariam Ibrahim, a family friend. "He was just the most wonderful and special friend anyone could have, whether they were two-legged or four-legged."

Ditto had served as Ibrahim's farrier for many years, and a horse was renamed "Ken" to honor Ditto for saving its life.

"It's feet were so bad, they said he would have to be put down," said Eric Yeadon, Ditto's brother-in-law. "Ken worked and worked, and he cured him."

Ditto was born in Gary, Ind., and moved to Central Florida in 1963. He is survived by wife, Susan L.; sons, Jeremy K., Joshua S., both of Christmas; daughter, Shelly, also of Christmas; mother, Elsie, Tallahassee; and sister, Darlene Johnson, of Tallahassee.